Backpack with lateral sliding module

ABSTRACT

A backpack that includes at least one module which is movable between a first storage position in which its contents are difficult for the user to reach with the bag on his back and a second access position in which the said contents are easy for the user to reach with the bag on his back. The module is fitted to slide between the first and second positions, on at least one rail extending laterally from a rear area of the bag to the front of the bag, and possibly as far as the strap assembly. For each module, it preferably includes a rail support panel, the rear edge of which is fixed laterally to the bag proper and the front edge of which extends to the front of the bag.

This present invention concerns a backpack, and more particularly a backpack equipped with external storage resources that are accessible to the user, including when the latter is still carrying the bag on his back.

Bag manufacturers offer their customers a large variety of models that differ in particular by the number, the size and the positioning of the storage pockets fixed onto the outside of the main body of the bag. Quite naturally, the user tends to specialise a particular pocket for the storage of certain types of articles, so that when he needs to look for this article, he will know precisely in which pocket it is located.

This being the case, the problem arises concerning the storage of articles that the user may need frequently while he still has the bag on his back. If this article is located in a pocket that is not accessible to him, he must necessarily stop and place the bag on the ground, which can be a major nuisance at certain times. In order to avoid this removal of the bag, the manufacturers have offered the users pockets that are fixed onto the strap assembly of the bag or indeed pockets that are independent of the bag and which are mounted on an element of the belt type. These solutions are certainly satisfactory in that the user has easy access to the articles that he requires, without needing to put the bag down. However they have a major disadvantage, which is that they create an additional encumbrance around the waist of the user, comprising a particular nuisance regarding the natural swinging of the arms when walking.

Document FR.2.717.992 has already proposed a solution that does not have this additional drawback. In this document, it is a question of rendering mobile a module which is used as a storage pocket between a dorsal storage position and a ventral position in which the contents of the module are accessible to the user. To this end, the module is firstly attached to support by removable fixing resources, meaning resources which can allow the user to detach the module from the said support in order to move it from the dorsal position to the ventral position, and secondly the bag includes attachment resources which allows the movement of the module between the two positions. In the methods of implementation that are very concisely covered in this document, this concerns flexible attachment resources such as pieces of fabrics, straps, shoulder straps or the equivalent, or indeed rigid attachment resources such as zip fasteners, hinges or the equivalent. The only examples illustrated, which are described very concisely, have some major drawbacks in practice. In one of these examples (FIGS. 3B and 3C), the attachment resources consist of a set of two straps that the user must close on themselves around the chest, so that a side pocket can be moved onto them. These two straps around the chest of the user are a very serious nuisance, and this is not tolerable.

According to another example, illustrated in FIG. 4, the attachment resource is a piece of fabric which connects the module to the upper part of the body of the bag, with an opening in this piece of fabric such that, when the module is passed from the dorsal position to the ventral position, the head of the user can be put through it. This solution seems to be totally unrealistic. In this case, given the presence of this opening for passage of the head, the piece of fabric must be of a length such that the module, in the dorsal position, rests on the back of the bag, which must necessarily make it very difficult to reach by the user in order to grasp it and to pass it over his head to the ventral position.

The objective of the applicant is to propose a backpack which implements the principle described in document FR.2.717.992 in a simple and effective manner.

This is a backpack that, in a known manner, includes a bag proper, a shoulder-strap assembly, possibly a belt assembly, and at least one module that is movable between a first storage position in which its contents are difficult for the user to reach with the bag on his back, and a second access position in which the said contents are easy for the user to reach with the bag on his back.

In a characteristic manner, according to this present invention, the module is designed so as to slide between the first and second positions, on at least one rail, formed from a semi-rigid cylindrical element, in particular a metal cable, a braided cord or a plastic rod, and extending laterally from a rear area of the bag to the front of the bag proper, possibly as far as the strap assembly. In addition, the module has at least one attachment part which effects the attachment of the module to the rail, with the ability to slide. Thus the user only has to grasp the module directly or indirectly when it is in its first position and to slide it to the front of the bag, where it is accessible.

According to one implementation variant, for each module, the backpack of this present invention includes a rail-support panel, whose rear edge is fixed laterally to the bag proper and whose front edge extends to the front of the bag. In one method of implementation of a bag, in particular without a belt assembly, the bag includes two modules and rail-support panels, fitted toward their front edges with removable attachment resources such as click-on buckles. Thus the two support panels can be closed around the waist of the user.

In another method of implementation of a bag that includes a belt assembly, and that includes a central portion and two lateral portions, in particular finished with padding, and designed to rest upon the lumbar part of the user, the front edge of the rail-support panel is attached to the strap assembly, in particular along the front edge of a lateral portion. Thus, according to this particular configuration, the rail is supported by a panel which is assembled so as to lie between the side of the bag proper and the strap assembly.

The support panel is preferably reinforced with a semi-rigid board.

According to one implementation variant, the semi-rigid cylindrical element constituting the rail is inserted in the selvedge of a strip forming a flap, with the other selvedge of the said flap being stitched onto the bag proper from the rear zone of the latter and onto the support panel, preferably along a lateral edge of the said support panel. As a result of the presence of this strip forming a flap, the rail is positioned at a certain distance from the outer wall of the bag proper and of the support panel, with advantage taken of this distance when the module has a certain volume, as will appear more clearly in the description to be given below.

According to one implementation variant, the module takes the form of a pocket, in particular of elongated shape, onto which is fixed at least one sliding attachment part for a specified rail.

Advantageously, each pocket includes four sliding attachment parts and is mounted to slide between two rails.

Preferably, in this case, the two rails, in the rear zone of the bag and possibly toward the front edge of the support panel, have a convergent direction, designed to effect the locking of the bag in the first and possibly in the second positions, between the two flaps.

According to one implementation variant, the backpack includes removable attachment resources of the module in its first position, so as to eliminate any risk of undesirable slippage of the module toward the front of the bag while walking. These removable attachment resources can consist of a press-stud or hook-and-eye or velcro system.

This present invention will be understood better on reading the description below of a preferred implementation example of a backpack equipped with a pocket mounted to slide on two guide rails extending laterally from a rear area of the bag as far as the belt assembly, illustrated by the appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of this backpack from the side,

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the bag of FIG. 1 from the rear,

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view showing the sliding attachment of the pocket onto the rail by means of an attachment part and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the sliding attachment part of FIG. 3.

Conventionally, a backpack 1 includes a bag proper 2, a shoulder-strap assembly 3 and a belt assembly 4. This belt assembly 4 generally includes a central portion 5 and two lateral portions 6 which are finished with padding, with the whole resting upon the lumbar part of the user. The lateral parts 6 are terminated by straps 7 equipped with removable attachment resources 8.

The backpack 1 includes a module 9 which is mounted to slide on a rail 10 which extends laterally from a rear area 11 of the bag proper as far as the strap assembly 4, being movable between a first, storage, position in which its contents are difficult for the user to reach with the bag 1 on his back and a second, access, position in which the contents of the module 9 are accessible to the user with the bag on his back.

In the preferred implementation example illustrated in FIG. 1, the module 9 takes the form of an elongated pocket closed by a zip fastener 12, the slide of which 13 is fitted with a gripping part 14. This pocket 9 is mounted to slide on an upper rail 10 using two attachment parts 22 which, in this case, are fixed toward the two ends of the pocket 9.

The rail 10 extends from the rear zone 11 of the bag proper as far as the front end 6 a of a lateral portion 6 of the strap assembly 4.

The rail 10 is composed of a semi-rigid cylindrical element such as a metal cable, a braided cord or a plastic rod. This semi-rigidity is necessary so that the rail can shape itself to the different movements of the strap assembly, in particular when the user adjusts the said ensemble around his waist.

Preferably, the backpack 1 includes a support panel 15 for the rail 10, whose rear edge 16 is fixed laterally to the bag proper 2, and whose front edge 10 is attached to the strap assembly 4. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, this attachment is effected using a ring 18 mounted on the front edge 17 of the support board 15, with the strap 7 of the strap assembly 4 being threaded through the said ring 18. This support panel 15 can be reinforced with a semi-rigid board. Likewise, the pocket 9 can itself include a semi-rigid stiffening board which is located at the bottom of the pocket, meaning the wall of the pocket that is opposite to the closure 12.

The rail 10 is inserted in the selvedge 19 of a strip forming a flap 20, whose other selvedge 21 is stitched onto the bag proper 2 and then on the support panel 15, along a lateral edge 15 a of the said panel. This assembly can be seen in particular in FIG. 3, as is the attachment part 22, which effects the attachment of the pocket 9 to the rail 10 with the ability to slide. This attachment part 22 is stitched onto the pocket 9 by means of a portion of strap 23. It includes (FIG. 4) a head 24, in which a hole 25 is drilled with a slot 26 at the top whose width is less than the diameter of the rail 10 while still being greater than the thickness of the flap 20. Thus it is possible to thread the rail 10 through the hole 25 while also allowing the flap 20 to pass through the slot 26.

As can be seen clearly in FIG. 3, the pocket 9 is more or less trapped under the flap 20, which improves the guidance of the said pocket when the latter is sliding along the rail 10.

In the preferred method of implementation illustrated in FIG. 1, the bag 1 includes two rails 10, 10′, mounted on two flaps 20, 20′ using four attachment parts 22 fixed onto the pocket 9 along the two front and rear ends, at the top and bottom of the said pocket 9.

In FIG. 1, the pocket 9 is located in the first storage position, in which its contents are difficult for the user to reach with the bag 1 on his back. This is therefore the normal position of the pocket 9 when walking. When the user needs an object stored in the pocket 9, he only has to grasp the front part 9 a of the said pocket and to pull the latter toward the front, along arrow F, to cause the pocket 9 to slide along the rails 10, 10′ until the front part 9 a of the pocket 9 more-or-less reaches the strap assembly 4, and more precisely the front edge 17 of the support board 15 which is attached to the front end 6 a of the lateral portion 6 of the strap assembly 4. In this second position, the user is able to grip the grasping part 14, open the pocket 9 and take out the object he is looking for. When this has been accomplished and the pocket 9 re-closed, the user then only has to push the pocket 9 in the direction opposite to arrow F until the latter returns to its initial position, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the two rails 10 and 11 have a convergent direction in the rear zone 11 of the bag proper 2 and toward the front edge 17 of the support panel 15, which contributes decisively to the locking of the pocket 9 in the first and in the second positions, between the two flaps 20, 20′. In fact, to some extent, the said pocket 9 is trapped.

However the effectiveness of this trapping effect depends on the volume of the pocket and the weight of the objects that it contains. It may be necessary to complement the locking of the pocket 9 in the first position, in particular when, preferably as in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the rail 10 has a downward slope from the rear to the front at an angle α of the order of 30°. Such a slope allows the pocket 9 to be raised above the bottom zone of the bag proper 2 and therefore possibly allows an access opening 27 to be created at the rear of the bag proper 2.

FIG. 2 shows the bag 1 with two movable pockets, fitted symmetrically, as explained above. This is not totally essential but provides the bag with a better balance.

The removable attachment of the pocket 9 in the first storage position can be achieved by any means, in particular with a press-stud or hook-and-eye or velcro system. Where it is a press-stud system 28, one of the elements is fixed onto the support panel 15 and the other onto the face of the pocket 9 that is in contact with the said support panel 15 or preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 1, on a tongue 29 fixed onto the front part 9 a of the pocket 9.

The pocket 9 is made up from fabric materials that are traditional in the backpack area so that, depending on the quantity and of the volume of the objets that it contains, this pocket 9 will be able to deform. The flaps 20, 20′ are also useful in that they allow the rail 10, 10′ to adopt a suitable position in accordance with this variation in the size of the bag 9.

This present invention is not limited to the precise implementation example that has just been described by way of a non-exhaustive example. In particular, the rail could be mounted directly onto the strap assembly 4, and more particularly onto the outer face of the lateral portion 6. In this case in particular, the rail could be composed of two independent sections, one mounted on the lateral portion 6 of the strap assembly and the other mounted on the outer wall of the bag proper 2, though these two sections need not be strictly in the same alignment. 

1.-13. (canceled)
 14. A backpack that includes a bag proper a shoulder-strap assembly possibly a belt, and at least one module that is movable between a first storage position in which its contents are difficult for the user to reach with the bag on his back, and a second access position in which the said contents are easy for the user to reach with the bag on his back, wherein the module is mounted to slide between first and second positions, on at least one rail formed from a semi-rigid cylindrical element, in particular a metal cable, a braided cord or a plastic rod, extending laterally from a rear area of the bag proper to the front of the bag, and possibly to the strap assembly, and wherein the module has at least one attachment part, which effects the attachment of the module to the rail, with the ability to slide.
 15. A backpack according to claim 14, wherein, for each module, it includes a rail support panel, the rear edge of which is fixed laterally to the bag proper and the front edge of which extends to the front of the bag.
 16. A backpack according to claim 15, in particular without a belt assembly, said backpack including two modules and two rail-support panels fitted toward their front edges with removable attachment resources designed to attach the support panels around the waist of the user.
 17. A backpack according to claim 15, equipped with a belt assembly, wherein the front edge of the rail support panel is attached to the strap assembly, in particular toward the front of the lateral portion.
 18. A backpack according to claim 15, wherein the support panel is reinforced with a semi-rigid board.
 19. A backpack according to claim 15, wherein the rail is inserted into the selvedge of a strip forming a flap, with the other selvedge of the said flap being stitched onto the bag proper and onto the support panel along a lateral edge of the said panel.
 20. A backpack according to claim 14, equipped with a belt assembly, wherein the rail is fixed onto the strap assembly, and in particular onto the lateral portion of the said belt assembly.
 21. A backpack according to claim 20, wherein the rail is in two sections, one fixed onto the bag proper and the other onto the lateral portion of the strap assembly.
 22. A backpack according to claim 14, wherein the module takes the form of a pocket, of elongated shape in particular, onto which is fixed at least one sliding attachment part for a rail or a rail section.
 23. A backpack according to claim 22, wherein each module is mounted to slide between two rails and where the said module includes four sliding attachment parts.
 24. A backpack according to claim 23, wherein the two rails in the rear zone of the bag proper, and possibly toward the front edge of the support panel, have a convergent direction, designed to effect the locking of the module in the first and possibly in the second position.
 25. A backpack according to claim 22, wherein the sliding attachment part is stitched onto the module, preferably by means of at least one portion of strap.
 26. A backpack according to claim 22, wherein the attachment part includes a head drilled laterally with a hole and where said hole has a slot at the top, the width of which is less than the diameter of the rail and greater than the thickness of the flap.
 27. A backpack according to claim 16, wherein the support panel is reinforced with a semi-rigid board.
 28. A backpack according to claim 17, wherein the support panel is reinforced with a semi-rigid board.
 29. A backpack according to claim 16, wherein the rail is inserted into the selvedge of a strip forming a flap, with the other selvedge of the said flap being stitched onto the bag proper and onto the support panel along a lateral edge of the said panel.
 30. A backpack according to claim 17, wherein the rail is inserted into the selvedge of a strip forming a flap, with the other selvedge of the said flap being stitched onto the bag proper and onto the support panel along a lateral edge of the said panel.
 31. A backpack according to claim 18, wherein the rail is inserted into the selvedge of a strip forming a flap, with the other selvedge of the said flap being stitched onto the bag proper and onto the support panel along a lateral edge of the said panel.
 32. A backpack according to claim 21, wherein the module takes the form of a pocket, of elongated shape in particular, onto which is fixed at least one sliding attachment part for a rail or a rail section.
 33. A backpack according to claim 25, wherein the attachment part includes a head drilled laterally with a hole and where said hole has a slot at the top, the width of which is less than the diameter of the rail and greater than the thickness of the flap. 